Chapter 27 Ellowyn
Ellowyn
Irapped my knuckles softly but firmly against the door to Alois’ office.
There was a singular Mage guard standing at attention in the hallway, but his gaze was studiously trained on the empty corridor.
I was nervous coming here today, unsure if he’d even let me near his office.
I’d donned eight different outfits with the help of my new maid, a dumpy older woman named Kenna, before settling on a practical and modest black dress.
I’d hoped that outfitting myself in the color my husband so clearly preferred would endear me to him; now I just felt like a girl trying to play games that were much too complex for me.
At least you made it to the outside of his office.
It was farther than I thought I’d be allowed.
I practiced my speech over in my mind: I demand my shackles be removed so I can learn control. I demand my shackles be removed so I can learn control.
The longer I stood waiting without an answer from inside the office, the more my palms sweat, and I danced slightly from foot to foot.
Mother would have my head.
At the thought, I froze, stilling all motion and elevating my chin with a slightly haughty expression. If I was going to play the part, I needed to adopt the characteristics fully. I leaned incrementally toward the door, straining to hear any sound in the room beyond.
It was silent—unnervingly so.
Air Wards.
Just as I was contemplating knocking a second time, the door flew open to reveal my husband.
It was the first time we’d laid eyes on each other in this proximity and not in a public setting since the night he took my virginity, months ago.
Alois was still handsome, but exhaustion laced his features.
Grey hair sprouted in earnest at his temples and in the coarse hairs of his growing beard.
The lines in his forehead were deeper, the bags beneath his constantly darting eyes were dark and heavy, like he hadn’t slept in weeks.
Good. I hope he regrets everything he’s done to me.
“Good morning, wife,” he said, his voice scratchy and tired. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
I froze, the power of his voice washing over me.
We stood still and unspeaking for a few tense minutes before Alois’ shoulders sagged, all pretense fading from his expression. He backed away from the doorway and gestured for me to step inside.
“Zaire,” Alois snapped, and the Mage incrementally inclined his head, his gaze never leaving the hallway. “Please make sure we are not disturbed. My wife and I need to . . . have a conversation. If Rohak appears, direct him toward Lex.”
“Yes, sir,” Zaire intoned briskly before Alois shut the door, encasing us in silence.
Definitely Air Wards—powerful ones, too.
“Nothing we say in here will be heard outside. Zaire is a rather adept Air Mage and has replenished the barriers surrounding this space,” Alois said, confirming my suspicions.
“I know,” I responded, and Alois’ eyebrows raised as he strode to one of the wingback chairs nearest the unlit fireplace. Winter was fading to spring, but it was still chilly, and I was surprised Alois didn’t have a fire roaring.
Though, come to think of it, the air in his office was already a pleasant temperature; some use of Fire Magic, I was sure.
“And how is that?”
“You forget my parents were True Bonded Air Mages, Alois. I grew up around displays of power such as this,” I retorted before sinking gracefully into the chair opposite.
Mother would be so proud of me.
Alois hummed thoughtfully before pouring himself a short glass of whiskey from the nearby bar cart.
“Whiskey?” He raised the glass in my direction. “It’s from Hestin.”
I’d never drunk before, much less whiskey, and sighed, relaxing back into the chair.
“Oh, what the hell, I’ll take a glass,” I said, much to Alois’ amusement.
He poured me a splash—more of a sip, really—and my fingers briefly grazed his before I took the drink. There was no more spark between us, no heat or overwhelming passion—nothing like what I experienced with Torin.
If that was just the beginning of our souls twining together, what will it be like when he is finally in Vespera? The thought had a shudder working its way through my body, and I took a quick sip of the whiskey to cover up my movements.
The alcohol was smooth and woody, but with an undercurrent of fire that burned the back of my throat.
I sputtered a cough, trying in vain to disguise my disgust. Alois chuckled warmly before tossing his own back and gesturing for my glass.
I gave it over, still attempting to control my cough, as he drank that as well.
“How—” I coughed again, my eyes watering. “How can you enjoy that?”
Alois set both glasses on the cart with a thump before turning back to me, resting his head on a hand. “It’s an acquired taste. And I’ve had many years to acquire it.”
I shook my head as I wiped beneath my eyes.
“Maybe my mother had some sense in keeping alcohol out of my mouth. That was abhorrent,” I said with a shudder.
Alois’ face closed off for a moment before he cocked his head curiously.
“That’s twice now in the span of a few minutes that you’ve mentioned your parents.”
I diverted my gaze to my hands in my lap.
My fingernails need a trim; I could probably use a deep moisturizer as well.
“Ellowyn,” Alois probed.
I pulled my steely gaze from my lap and regarded my husband. “I heard you the first time. I simply chose to ignore the statement.”
He huffed with an eye roll.
“The arrogance of youth,” he mumbled, and fire roared through my veins. My Destruction Magic sparked and was instantly swallowed by the bracelets on my wrists.
“It’s not ‘arrogance’ or even my age, Alois. It’s simply that I have a lot of conflicting feelings regarding my parents and the events surrounding their disappearance, which I’m certain you can understand,” I snapped.
A grin flashed across Alois’ face before fading again.
“More than anyone,” he admitted.
Against my better judgement, my interest was piqued.
“Did you know that I’m the only surviving heir to the original family that governed Samyr?”
I shook my head, already enthralled by his story.
Damn him, distracting me from my purpose here.
“I’m not surprised; it’s not common knowledge.
As far as most are concerned, I grew up in Vespera—the lower districts with Rohak.
But I was spirited away from my home by my mother when I was barely four.
The current rulers initiated a coup against my family.
Some dispute or other caused it.” He waved his hand around as if the reasoning truly didn’t matter.
“My father and I were the only remaining descendants of Kaos, the full burden of the god’s magic falling to me when I was barely beyond toddlerhood. ”
I sank against the chair, crossing my legs as I listened to his story.
“My mother brought me to a house in one of Kiluo’s poorest districts in the middle of the night.
I remember watching over her shoulder as our home burned, the fire lighting the dark sky in brilliant shades of yellow and orange.
It’s something I’ll never forget. Nor will I ever forget the Keeper who imparted visions on a four-year-old without my knowledge or consent.
The pain, the understanding, the truth that I pulled from those visions was not something a child should ever have to experience.
I thrashed, I cried, I tried to claw my eyes out at one point. ”
I shifted uncomfortably at the pain in his words. I didn’t want to feel anything but apathetic animosity toward the man across from me.
How dare he make me feel sorry for him?
“I begged the Keeper to stop, begged my mother to release me. But she held me down. Pulled my hands from my face and made me weed the truths from the lies; forced me to see the branching of time and discern the correct path to take to reach a desired outcome. Those were some of the most painful moments of my life. The constant niggling of Kaos’ consciousness invading my own was not a pleasant aftereffect, either. ”
He paused, and I cleared my throat.
“She sounds like a bitch.”
He chuckled slightly at my revulsion.
“Yes. She was, in more ways than just that. I could hate her—I do hate her—but, if she hadn’t pulled me from my bed in the middle of the night, if she hadn’t forced the Keeper to feed me those visions and Awaken my position as Kaos’ last descendant, you and I would not be having this conversation.
In fact, Elyria would look completely different today.
Every move that I made from then on out was done with surety and an understanding of how it would impact the future. ”
What a responsibility to thrust on a four-year-old.
“So, yes. I hate my mother and her actions. But I’m also grateful for her resolve. Without it, the gods would run amuck, Samyr would control Elyria, and their fucked-up views of Vessels and Mages would have magic nearly eradicated from humanity.”
“I didn’t come here today to talk about my parents,” I blurted, and Alois smiled thinly.
“I’m aware. But”—he swept his hand around—“it’s a conversation that needs to happen. I see the future pathways and all of that.”
I ground my lips together.
If he knows the future so intimately, did he know this conversation would happen? Even worse, was his treatment of me the night of our wedding purposeful?
Alois smiled sadly at me. “I see the understanding in your eyes, the conclusions you’re coming to. Whatever you’re thinking is, sadly, correct.”
“So you know why I’m here, then.”
“Not specifically,” he sighed. “But I know that you eventually need those bands removed”—he nodded to my wrists—“and we’ll need to have a conversation about the fates of your parents.”
I froze.
“They’re alive?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that; I didn’t want them to die, but their decisions indirectly caused my turmoil and pain.
“See,” Alois said, drawing me from my thoughts. “There’s that conflict. You’re also clearly not ready to have that discussion if you’re internally at war with yourself over their actions.”
I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. Petulant, yes, and maybe my age was showing, but it was evident Alois enjoyed the display of emotion.
“So your bands, then—”
“I want them off,” I stated firmly. “Now.”
“So demanding. So prickly,” he teased as he eased his head off his hand. “But I cannot do it just yet.”
“But you said—” I started, but Alois held up a palm, cutting off my tirade.
“I did. And you will have them removed. But with failsafes in place. Even now, your emotions are controlling your magic—this entire time, your Destruction has leaked out and twined around your arms, your Creation Magic flickering off and on as well. I even saw—” He stopped himself with a shake of his head, and I wondered what he was going to say.
What else did he see?
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is if I take those cuffs off right now, nothing will remain of my office.
If you want them off, I need you to visit Faylinn.
Have her give you some sort of rune to control your emotions or temper your magic.
Either way, doesn’t matter. But you must have something to prevent the complete annihilation of my army and city. Are we clear?”
I sighed, the skin beneath the thin cuffs itching and demanding relief.
“Yes,” I groused, and Alois nodded his head.
“Wonderful. Once that is done, you may begin at the Academy. I’ve already informed Lex that you’ll be starting classes in short order.”
I raised my brows at his statement.
“Bold of you to assume that,” I stated, and he tapped one finger to his temple.
“Truthsayer, remember?”
I hummed before pushing to a stand, adrenaline rushing as I thought about seeking Faylinn out. “If that is all, husband,” I said derisively.
Alois said nothing, a flicker of emotion passing over his face as I crossed his office.
“For what it’s worth, Ellowyn, I never wanted to hurt you. That was not my intention. There are just certain things that need to happen and only a few ways to make those events come to fruition.” He at least had the wherewithal to fake remorse.
“I understand, Alois. But it doesn’t change the fact that you did hurt me. Many times. In multiple ways. That’s not something that I can just forgive and forget.”
“Seems I’ve fallen into the same complicated category as your parents, hmm?” he mused.
“Something like that,” I said softly as I left the room in search of Faylinn.